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GEORGIAN CATHEDRAL

Original design: 1979–1980 Reconstructed: 2001, 2025 Series: TAO-Matches Materials: Painted matches; broom and wheat straw; beads (wooden; Japanese Toho and Miyuki 24KT gold; Czech Preciosa Ornela 24KT gold; vintage Jablonec beads from the late 19th–early 20th century); Swarovski crystal beads; tiger’s eye; gold sand; Swarovski and other manufacturers’ crystals and adhesive rhinestones; metal fittings; brooch (no later than the 1960s); foil; sequins; nichrome wire; acrylic glass; computer graphics; LEDs; adhesives (PVA, D3, epoxy, silicone). Lighting: 1 LED powered by 2 LR41 batteries. The work also contains an earlier lighting layer of 11 LEDs, which may be restored. Case: Protective acrylic display case. Dimensions: Miniature: 140 × 130 × 220 mm Case: Ø 220 mm × 310 mm Weight (with case): 2.5 kg Georgian Cathedral is a complex architectural miniature constructed from matches, beads, crystals, and decorative elements. It features a multilayered structure and a meticulously developed interior of a distinctly timeless quality. This work is one of the artist’s earliest and most significant pieces. It became the first relatively large-scale sacred structure created entirely from matches and represents a sophisticated, multi-level attempt to reflect on sacred architecture under the conditions of cultural and spiritual restriction characteristic of the late Soviet period. The initial version (1979–1980) was based on an illustration from a school textbook—the only visual source available at the time. The absence of functioning churches and the lack of access to real ecclesiastical interiors in the USSR shaped a unique artistic strategy: the cathedral’s interior was constructed through secondary imagery—painted depictions of cathedral interiors, reproductions, fragments of mass culture, and materials of everyday origin. The most complex and conceptually significant aspect of the work is the interior. The altar is composed of a large vintage brooch and chains, while the side walls are assembled from postage stamps featuring reproductions of Western European religious painting and candy-wrapper foil, manually worked with a needle into intricate decorative panels. In this way, the sacred is built from fragments of the secular, the forbidden, and the accidental—an act of inner resistance and the restoration of memory. From the outset, the cathedral was conceived as an illuminated object. A large square battery was embedded in the foundation, from which intertwined copper wires led to a small festive-garland bulb installed in the dome. Here, light functions not merely as a technical feature, but as a symbol of presence, faith, and life within an enclosed form. The 2001 reconstruction significantly transformed the work: the original bulb was replaced with a system of eleven LEDs, the power supply was redesigned, and the interior was reconfigured using specially selected and printed icons (primarily Orthodox), beads, bugle beads, metal-set rhinestones, and adhesive decorative elements. The façades and base of the cathedral were also substantially reworked, reflecting the evolution of the artist’s visual language. By 2025, the lighting system had ceased to function, becoming the catalyst for yet another renewal—an additional historical layer within the object. During the most recent reconstruction, a new автономous lighting unit was installed, consisting of a single LED powered by two LR41 batteries. This minimalist yet conceptually precise solution emphasizes the fragility of light as a carrier of meaning and memory. Georgian Cathedral is not merely an architectural miniature, but a document of its time—one that combines childlike imagination, restricted access to knowledge, intuitive faith, and extraordinary material inventiveness. The work functions as an archive of spiritual experience, created from modest materials yet imbued with complex symbolism. Its layered structure, use of light, and the interplay between historical and contemporary elements make it a compelling example of how sacred art can exist beyond institutional frameworks—as an inner necessity. The piece is perceived not as a scale model of a church, but as an architecture of an inner state. It speaks less about a building and more about the human need for a protected spiritual space—especially in times of destruction, loss, and instability. Within a museum or exhibition context, Georgian Cathedral resonates as a testimony of personal faith and collective memory, where architecture becomes a language of inner resistance and hope. The work may be interpreted as: an example of alternative sacred architecture; a form of personal archaeology of faith; an object situated at the intersection of naïve art, assemblage, and authorial engineering sculpture; a work demonstrating long-term artistic evolution through reconstruction and repeated recontextualization.    • GEORGIAN CATHEDRAL      • GEORGIAN CATHEDRAL 2